King Aquaman To the Rescue
by Windrises
Summary: Aquaman feels like he's not good enough to be Atlantis' hero. Plus, Black Manta returns, determined to get gold.


Note: Aquaman is owned by DC Comics and was created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris.

Aquaman had recently taken his place as the King of Atlantis. However, that didn't mean he felt like a king. He didn't feel like he was as mature and hard working as a lot of Atlantis' guards. Deep down, he wondered if there were people more capable of being Atlantis' main protector. However, he tried to hide those feelings from Mera and everybody else.

One day, Black Manta was searching for some gold that fell off a ship, a few days ago. He swam up to it, hoping that Aquaman and Atlantis' other protectors wouldn't find out about it. He grabbed the treasure chest and opened it. The greedy scoundrel was excited about how much gold was in there.

A group of guards were doing patrol, when they saw Black Manta. They were instructed to tell Aquaman, whenever Black Manta showed up. However, one of the guards thought Black Manta had to be stopped right away, so he swam up to Black Manta and tried hit him. Black Manta gave the guard a menacing glare and punched him. He grabbed the guard's weapon and said, "You have a careless way of fighting. Fittingly, it will lead to your downfall." He used the guard's staff to beat up the guard.

The rest of the guards swam into Aquaman's kingdom. Aquaman saw them and asked, "What's going on?"

One of the guards said, "Black Manta came by, looking for the gold."

Aquaman noticed there was one less guard than usual, so he asked, "Where's the other guy?"

The guard said, "He tried to fight Black Manta, by himself."

Aquaman replied, "Heroic, but not a smart choice. Come with me. We need to stop that crazy Manta."

Aquaman and the guards swam to Black Manta. They looked around and saw Black Manta hurting the guard. Aquaman tried to protect the guard and the gold, by giving Black Manta a big punch. The punch launched the villain several feet away.

Black Manta started swimming back, while saying, "I'm going to get that gold, Aquaman. Stay away from it, before I bring a marathon of trouble." He did an evil laugh.

Aquaman sternly replied, "Stay away from the gold and Atlantis, in general." Black Manta punched Aquaman and used a staff to knock him away.

The guards tried to fight Black Manta, but he started punching and kicking him. He swam up to the gold, but Aquaman gave him a big kick. Black Manta grabbed Aquaman and threw him away. He grabbed the gold and said, "Truly, a wonderful treat."

Aquaman swam closer to him and replied, "Truly, a treat you haven't earned." He kicked Black Manta. Black Manta ignored the kick and used his staff to knock Aquaman to the bottom of the ocean. The guards started fighting Black Manta. Black Manta looked around and saw nine guards. He doubted he could defeat all of them, so he started swimming away. He hoped that he could get the gold, when it wasn't being guarded.

Aquaman got up and helped the injured guard. He faced him and said, "You shouldn't of tried to fight Black Manta, without my help."

The guard replied, "No offense, but the other guards are the ones who defeated Black Manta."

Aquaman thought about it and realized the guard was right. He didn't do as good of a job, at fighting Black Manta, as he should have. He started swimming back home, feeling like he messed up.

A few hours later, Aquaman went back to his house. Mera walked up to him, with a concerned look on her face. She said, "I heard what happened."

Aquaman replied, "The guards and the gold are okay."

Mera looked at him, while asking, "Are you okay? The guards told me about your struggle."

Aquaman sighed and replied, "Then you know about me messing up."

Mera responded, "I don't think you messed up. However, you usually defeat Black Manta, easier. What's going on?"

Aquaman figured it was time to stop hiding his fears and guilt. He looked at her and said, "I don't know if I have what it takes, to be the King of Atlantis."

Mera mildly smirked and replied, "You've been the King of Atlantis, for a while now, so you're proving yourself wrong."

Aquaman responded, "Don't look at this, with such a simplistic mindset. Just because someone has the job, doesn't mean that they deserve to have it. Atlantis deserves a more capable king than me and I feel bad about that."

Mera gently touched his shoulder and replied, "You have what it takes to be a great king. If you don't realize your potential, Atlantis will be in trouble. Embrace your potential. Besides, you have me to help you."

Aquaman responded, "Thank you Mera, but I'm not so sure about me being the best choice."

Mera asked, "Why would you doubt your talent?"

Aquaman thought about it. Did he really have what it takes and was just being insecure? He said, "Well, a King has to protect people."

Mera replied, "You're a superhero, one of the most prominent careers of crime-fighting. You don't just protect Atlantis. You help your super friends protect dry land. You're more than just a King, you're a superhero."

Aquaman thought about what Mera told him and said, "You're right."

Mera sternly replied, "You better start believing in your abilities. I'm not just saying that, for your benefit. If you don't start trusting yourself, Atlantis. It needs a protector, a King, and most importantly, a hero." Aquaman realized it would be wrong to give up just because he had doubt. He had to be the King, for Atlantis' benefit.

Meanwhile, Black Manta figured the gold would be guarded by even more guards, next time. Because of that, he wanted to be more prepared. He started walking to a nearby weapons store, so he could pick up a special device. He said, "That darn Aquaman protects the gold, even though it doesn't belong to Atlantis. He's such a big hero, that he feels the need to protect that guard. He might even hand-deliver it to the people the gold belongs to, when the time comes. Pathetic, a word that describes Aquaman well." He burst into the store, beat up the staff, and grabbed an electrifying staff. He started zapping the store's items, while doing an evil laugh.

The next day, Aquaman was in his kingdom. Vulko Nuidis walked up to him. He had heard about the gold situation, so he asked, "Is everything okay?"

Aquaman said, "Yesterday, there were some problems. However, I'm not going to let Black Manta ruin my spirits. I'm going to keep fighting and I'll have to be prepared, when Black Manta tries to get the gold back."

Vulko replied, "I think I can help you." He handed a new staff to Aquaman.

Aquaman looked at it and noticed it had a similar appearance to his current staff. He said, "It's cool and all, but is it going to make a difference?"

Vulko replied, "Try it out." He got out of the way.

Aquaman pointed the staff at some rubble and pressed a blue button. The staff blasted the rubble across the kingdom. He smiled and said, "I dig it."

That night, Black Manta started swimming back to the gold, with his new staff. There were twenty guards. They looked around and saw the villainous gold-lover. He pointed the staff at the guards and started zapping them. They tried to fight back. They held up a fight, but he managed to hurt each and every single guard. The cruel villain swam up to the gold and was about to grab it, but he got zapped.

Aquaman was the one who zapped him. He looked at Black Manta and said, "Greetings, old Manta."

Black Manta pointed his new electric weapon at Aquaman and replied, "You shouldn't try to fight me, Aquaman. Don't you remember our last fight? I defeated you. It was the guards who defeated me. However, this time, I defeated twenty guards! There's no way you could stop me. Frankly, whether or not, you can stop one of your own guards is a debatable topic."

Aquamam responded, "That might of been true, during our last fight, but that isn't the case anymore."

Black Manta was confused about Aquaman was talking about, but he didn't give up on his boastful arrogance. He said, "I have more power, than ever before, so I have a better chance of defeating you. In fact, I look forward to giving you the zap of the century." He tried to electrify Aquaman, but he didn't managed to get to him.

Aquaman swam up to Black Manta and started using his blaster to blast Black Manta. Black Manta was unpleasantly surprised, by Aquaman's new weapon. He flung Aquaman's blaster away and did an evil laugh. He pointed his weapon at Aquaman and started zapping him. Aquaman might of given up, if Mera hadn't given him the confidence and lesson he needed. He needed and wanted to be a source of hope for Atlantis. He swam up to his staff, grabbed it, and checked up on the guards. He asked, "Are you guys okay?"

The guard said, "Black Manta's weapon hurt us, but it didn't destroy any of us. Our futures might of been sealed though, if you hadn't arrived."

Aquaman replied, "It's time for me to be to the hero Atlantis deserves." Aquaman pointed his staff at Black Manta and started blasting him. Black Manta used his weapon to fight back, but it was a hopeless effort, for the weapon. Aquaman had more determination in his heart, more dedication, and passion in his heart. He was Atlantis' hero and he wasn't going to let Black Manta take away his new confidence.

Black Manta responded, "You put up an impressive fight, Aquaman. It appears I can't take the gold, but don't expect to not have to deal with me. I intend on coming back, attacking you, and robbing all of Atlantis." He did an evil laugh, while swimming away. Deep down, he felt ashamed for failing to stop Aquaman.

When Aquaman returned home, Mera had already heard about his victory. She swam up to him and hugged him. She said, "I'm so proud of you."

Aquaman replied, "Thank you, but you deserve a lot of credit. You gave me the confidence boost I needed and made me realize that Atlantis needs me. You're as much of a hero, as I am."

Mera held Aquaman's hand, while saying, "Like I said before, you'll always have me, to help you protect Atlantis."

Aquaman replied, "Another thing you said before was true. Atlantis needs both a King and a hero."

Mera smiled and said, "You're both of those things."

Aquaman smiled back and replied, "Maybe I am." Aquaman was thankful to finally feel important. He planned on always being there, to make Atlantis as safe as possible. Whenever Black Manta would attack, Aquaman would save the day.


End file.
